Disclaimer: I own only what is mine; not one thing more nor one thing less.

Author's Note: I was going to submit this to Dokuga Contest, a great Sess/Kag writer's collective on Live Journal, but I missed the deadline. I decided to finish it and add it here anyway.

Aberration

It was a sweltering summer evening and nightfall had done little to curb the heat. Earlier, around dusk, a sudden and short-lived cloudburst had promised to cool things down, yet all it did was make the air humid and tangible. It was like being wrapped in a warm, wet paper towel. Sitting outside around the lifeless fire pit was marginally more comfortable than inside the hut and Kagome gladly took any little bit of relief offered. Besides, she was quite content looking up at the sky, watching the starts twinkle and staring at the full moon. Then it just kind of fell out of her mouth:

"Why haven't I ever heard any legends about Sesshoumaru?"

Kaede sighed deeply, shaking her head, and Kagome instantly regretted taking the conversation down that road.

"I just don't understand," Kagome floundered. "Given he must be at least a hundred years old, there just has to be some mention of him in the history of this region. I mean, c'mon, he turns into a gigantic white dog at will. That's more than enough to make someone famous, Keade. I hear stuff about his father all the time, plus people even know about Inuyasha and…"

"And by what name do ye know him?" Kaede interrupted, her words spoken slow and terse.

"Huh? Him who?"

"Inuyasha's father. Inu no Taisho was his rank, not his name. Do you know his name, child?"

Kagome thoughtfully twirled her hair around her finger. "Guess not."

"Fear be the reason for that." Kaede drank deeply from the cup of water she held, and upon emptying it began to knead her hands together as she often did when her arthritis was especially bothersome. "Listen closely Kagome, as what I say is of great importance. For some demons, using their given name can invoke a most ancient and powerful magic. It is said that there are certain clans of demons who were most adept at infusing power and magic into a name by incorporating the alignment of the stars or phase of the moon into the naming ceremony, resulting in a creature whose strength would be increased just by speaking its name. My sister Kikyo had told me this was no longer the case as this dark art had been coveted into oblivion. As such, both man and demon now be ignorant of it ever existing.

Inu no Taisho was a very old and very powerful demon. I have no doubt that the ritual was in use when he was born, and whether or not the spell was cast upon him, many feared it true and spoke of him by title alone. "

In the darkness Kagome nodded her head in understanding. "Inuyasha is not that old, so the name spell was lost by the time he was born, and that's why no one is afraid to use his name, right?"

"Aye."

"So, Sesshoumaru must not be old enough to have had the ritual performed on him either, because people use his name too, but that still doesn't explain the lack of stories. Unless…." Kagome stared hard at the ground, winding her hair tighter around her finger. Suddenly it dawned upon her. "Unless he is known by some other name, a title or rank, that we don't know about and no one has made the connection."

"Oh, I've made the connection," Sango's voice was laced with contempt as she spoke from the doorway of the hut. "And I will no longer be silent about it."

"Ye shall be quiet, girl!" Kaede spat. "To do otherwise will put us all in grave peril on this night as we number only three. It is possible he may be listening now and the truth matters not as the accusation alone could bring about our demise."

"Of all people, Kagome deserves to know what we suspect. Maybe then we can all work together to get that precious little girl away from him before something awful happens."

Kagome's ears perked at the mention of Rin. "I really don't think Sesshoumaru would ever do anything to hurt Rin. Really I don't. You don't think he would, do you?"

Sango sat next to Kagome on the worn, weathered log, took a deep breath and began to speak. "I, and others as well, believe that Sesshoumaru is The Assassin Prince." As the last words left Sango's lips, Kaede stood, her bow drawn and ready to do battle as a chill slithered down Kagome's spine.

Moments crept by marked by the chirping of crickets, but nothing happened. Kagome watched as Kaede lowered her arrow and made her way back to the hut. The old miko seemed every bit her age then, steps heavy with duty, shoulders slumped and sad. For the first time the question of how much longer Kaede would live crossed Kagome's mind.

"The Assassin Prince was the son of two very powerful demons," Sango continued. "His father was a great warrior and his mother an aristocratic sorceress. From a very early age he excelled at combat and weaponry. As his skill grew, so did his confidence, which quickly turned to arrogance and vanity. Though just a boy, his fighting techniques soon surpassed those of his instructors, and he took to grievously injuring them out of sport. He even challenged his own father, who dealt him a severe beating in the hopes it would teach him humility and curb his hunger for conquest.

The sorceress took her injured son and fled to a small, secret palace which floated high above the mountains where it lay hidden in the clouds. There she educated him in the magical arts, which her husband had forbade her to do. The prince excelled at this too and soon he was able to shape change, infuse damaged armor with the ability to regenerate, understand all language spoken by man, demon or animal, and turn his own blood to acidic poison as it flowed in his veins, to which he alone was immune.

Forced to find his own methods of furthering his combat training, the prince took to attacking those with the most highly trained bodyguards. Nobility, royalty, politicians, diplomats--all were his target. No human or demon was exempt. Not even women and children were safe from him, the bastard. Legend says the first innocent murdered was a very young princess who was found still holding the leash once tethered to her pet baby dragon, which was nowhere to be found. That dragon had two heads, Kagome."

"You shut up!" Kagome stood, glaring down at Sango with her fists clenched. "Are you saying that Sesshoumaru killed all those people, children included, just to have sparring partners?! You've totally lost your mind, Sango! I refuse to believe that I've sent my little Rin back into the camp of a child killer time and time again!"

Kagome collapsed and wept. Sango stroked her hair and wiped her tears. Kaede brewed tea and felt every bit her age.

Theme: Famous

Words: 1159

Completed 8/15/09